Outlander: Blood of My Blood Recap: Tokens to Carry

Outlander: Blood of My Blood
A Portion of My Soul
Season 2 Episode 4
Editor’s Rating ★★★
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War is nigh on Blood of My Blood, babes! Everyone is having a lot of big feelings about it, and those feelings are mostly “sad” and “horny.” While all of our four mains are left in precarious situations as the 1715 Jacobite uprising begins, I’m most concerned about Henry.

That’s right: Henry has returned through the stones fucked up from all that electroshock therapy but determined to get his wife back. Did you see him do that hot, angry march through the moors? Nothing is going to stop this guy. Nothing! And then he’s almost immediately captured by Grant men who return him beaten and bloodied to Arch Bug. You’d think this would spell disaster for Henry, but it turns out being so closely watched by Arch Bug is going to keep him safe — at least for a little while — and that is thanks to Arch’s wife, Murdina. 

Murdina is possibly the most superstitious character we’ve had in the Outlander universe, and that is really saying something. But this woman sees the marks left on Henry’s forehead from the electroshock therapy, the huge scar on the back of his head, knows he straight up disappeared at the stones, and she believes without doubt that this man was marked by faeries. Since she and Arch already lost a son, she doesn’t want to be cursed by the faeries again — they cannot bring any harm to Henry. Arch, against all odds, is a huge wife guy, so when Uncle Grant demands 20 lashes to satisfy Lord Lovat, who is demanding retribution for “kidnapping” Julia and the baby, Arch fakes it to keep Uncle Grant happy and Henry unharmed. I’m not saying we trust Arch now, but if he’s going to be by Henry’s side during these battles, he might continue to do him a solid or two.

Yes, it’s true, our PTSD-addled Henry is being forced to return to a war zone as part of his penance for running away from the Grants and abandoning Malcolm when he needed him most. (The Grants, like Lord Lovat, have joined forces with Lord Argyll and the English.) Henry’s still clearly not himself, and I doubt walking into an uprising is going to help that situation. You know what might help? Julia. Mercifully, Blood of My Blood doesn’t make us wait too long to get these two back in each other’s arms. Julia intercepts a letter from Uncle Grant to Lovat about Henry, has Davina help disguise her as a man so she can travel alone, and before long, Henry spots his wife out in the courtyard and ushers her into his living quarters.

The happy reunion is actually a bit awkward and tense at first. Julia’s beside herself when she learns what happened to Henry and that their daughter was somehow just blipped out of his memory — which means he never returned to Claire. Henry’s horrified too, but my guy’s also confused because instead of really feeling for what her husband has been through, Julia is cold and distant. She’s happy and relieved to see her husband, but we all know that when she looks at him, all she’s thinking about is him boinking her scullery maid. 

When Julia confronts Henry about Seema, he tries his best to explain that he was told she and William were dead and he was out of his mind, hallucinating with grief. I do absolutely love that Julia seems to get most angry at the fact that he ended up in the brothel initially because he thought she might be there, as if she would ever be in a place like that. First off, sex work is work, okay? And second, the man just traveled through rocks — anything was possible at that point. It’s such a Claire Fraser thing to be mad about.

Anyway, after she gets past feeling insulted, she does somewhat come around on the whole not-himself-mad-with-grief of it all. Still, she cannot get over the fact that he lied to her about it. In all that time riding out to Craig na Dun during their failed escape, he didn’t mention having sex with a prostitute, and that really grinds her gears. I guess Julia is allowed to be angry and disgusted by the whole thing for a little while, but, like, come on, don’t we have other priorities at this point? 

Eventually, they get to those bigger priorities, which is to have sex before Henry has to leave for war. Finally! These two really needed a good boning to get all that angst out of their systems. After, they devise a plan: Now that Henry knows for sure he needs a gemstone to travel — the stone in the brooch Mrs. Graham gave him disappeared when he went through the stone,s and he and Julia realize they both had gemstones on them when they traveled the first time — if they can get their hands on three gemstones and he can slip away while everyone is distracted by this war, they can return to Claire and to their own time. There is, of course, that little wrinkle of Maisri informing Julia that she doesn’t have the power to travel, but they tuck that worry away for later. All Henry needs to do is stay alive until they can return to Craig na Dun. Easier said than done, but Julia writes him a letter to remind him what he’s fighting for, seals it with a SWAK just like old times, and then he’s off. 

In a cute little twist, it turns out the person we should be most worried about surviving at this point is Julia. She returns home to discover Seema not only has overheard that Julia really is Henry’s wife, but also that this woman has gone real psycho killer. She loves Henry and Henry loves her, she claims, as she locks herself in a room with Julia and pulls a knife on her. I’m sure Julia is going to survive this mess, but then this woman really needs to think about escaping Castle Leathers for good. Anything’s got to be better than this house of horrors. 

Thankfully, things go much smoother for our other couple when they reunite. Ellen and Grace reach Brian in time to warn him of his father’s treachery, and they’re able to reach Dougal and his men before they march into Inverness, where a trap has been laid. It’s a big wipe-your-brow, whew-we-did-it moment, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the whole thing hasn’t come without a cost. 

That cost is Brian severing ties with his father for good. Now you may be like, good, it’s about time; that guy sucks the big one, but it’s a huge deal for Brian to walk away from even the little protection and security Lovat offered him. The moment Brian hears about Lovat’s traitorous decision to join Lord Argyll and turn on the MacKenzies, he confronts his father. Lovat, of course, is doing it because Argyll has promised to restore his title and lands. Lovat will be rolling in it after this is over, which means Brian will be, too. Brian is disgusted by his father — more than usual — for so easily breaking oaths he made to the MacKenzies. When Lovat basically laughs at him for throwing everything away for a woman, Brian drops a sassy line about still having his conscience when all this is through and then rides off with Ellen to warn Dougal what’s coming.

You can tell Lovat is shocked that Brian would actually forsake him. He’s never fully been able to stand up to his father before, and you know Lovat is blaming his sudden burst of courage on Ellen. A scorned Lovat does not bode well for Brian … or Ellen. 

At the moment, though, this side of Blood of My Blood is celebrating any win they can. Brian and Dougal have agreed to put their differences aside and trust each other for the duration of this war, and Dougal has some MacKinneys to kill in order to avenge sweet Janet’s death. Ellen gets to tell Brian that he did, indeed, knock her up. He’s given up everything he’s ever known for her, and while she’s feeling guilty about that, Brian doesn’t regret anything — she and this baby are his family, and that’s all he needs. He does worry that he won’t be a good father because his model for that was awful, but Ellen doesn’t believe that for one second. And then they have sex. I don’t know how the two are related, but good for them. Brian’s leaving for war, too, and you need to get it in while you can.

Clan Business

• Murtagh falling in love with Grace is going to end badly, isn’t it? He’s upset on Grace’s behalf when he sees that John Cameron, who is in the MacKenzie camp, is forcing himself on her late at night in his tent, and Cameron’s right-hand man, Hugh, spots Murtagh and Grace getting close by the fire. I’m worried about this whole situation. 

• Speaking of people to be worried about: Lovat’s goon, Ballach, is now following either Brian or Ellen. That probably won’t end well either! 

• In the never-ending saga that is me coming to grips with my crush on Dougal: Did you see the way he tries to play it cool when he asks Ellen if Maura is okay after the failed MacKinney coup? Be still, my stupid, stupid heart.